Once you decide that hardwood flooring is the right flooring material for your home, you have many more decisions. Two that you’ll need to make early in the process are the plank width and length. Today, the most common option is a 3” board width. For length, the most common is what the manufacturers refer to as standard length boards, which means a variety of lengths ranging between one and seven feet.
Hardwood Flooring Plank Width Options
As much as wide plank flooring is a popular option in Belleair, Tampa and Clearwater, when you want real hardwood or engineered wood floors, you’re going to pay more the wider the plank. This is because in order to get wide planks, the trees must mature longer. Many homes you see with wide plank flooring have luxury vinyl plank (LVP) because it’s more affordable at the wide plank widths.
Still hoping for wide plank hardwood flooring? A newly emerging trend mixes plank widths. It not only is a bit more budget friendly, but also reduces the overall cost slightly. However, if you’re planning a herringbone or chevron installation pattern, two- or three-inch planks provide the best look.
Choosing Your Hardwood Flooring Board Length
Think about the last home you were in with hardwood flooring. Chances are that you didn’t notice that the board lengths were different. That’s because during installation, even with boards that are all the same length, the flooring installation company cuts the boards so that they don’t all end at the same place. The exception is again, if you’re choosing a patterned installation where the same size board length is required. Then it’s best to research wood flooring options that come in the same board length options.
How Plank Width and Length Impact Your Budget
As we mentioned, the wider the plank, generally the more expensive the materials. However, you may end up saving money on the installation over a narrow plank product. That’s because your flooring installation company can more quickly lay and install the flooring with wider planks than narrow ones. Of course, a straight lay installation is a cheaper installation option than a pattern and it requires the least overage so if you’re on a tight budget, you likely shouldn’t consider a patterned installation.
Seer Flooring Can Help
As a locally owned and operated flooring company, we offer flooring from many different manufacturers. Let our experienced professionals help you choose the right hardwood flooring for, not only your budget, but also for the installation pattern you want as well as the overall finished look you desire. Call us today for your free in-home estimate at (727) 469-7963.